Engravers are used to repair and replace cracked concrete. In some applications, larger engraver machines are used to prepare expansion joints that replace the cracked concrete section. In preparation of an expansion joint, large sections of concrete are removed by cutting straight lines in the concrete, removing the section, and replacing the section by pouring an entirely new section. Excessive material and labor costs are incurred with such methods because an entire section defined by straight line cuts must be replaced.
In other applications, hand-held engravers are used to repair the cracked concrete without replacement of a large section. In such applications, the hand-held engraver follows a crack in the concrete to clean out the crack in preparation for a filling material. Because the hand-held engravers are small in size, operation of the engraver is not constrained to providing only a straight line, as with the larger engraver machines. By following the crack, only the damaged concrete need be cleaned up and repaired.
Use of hand-held engravers, however, can be significantly laborious as the operator is required to be on his hand and knees during operation of the engraver. This type of work is tiring and sometimes causes back, knee, or other injury to the operator. In addition, hand-held engravers are typically pushed along the concrete crack. Pushing the hand-held engraver in the direction of the cut makes visibility difficult, as the concrete particles and dust are directed forward along the crack and cover the crack path that the operator is trying to follow.
In general, improvement has been sought with respect to concrete engraver devices, generally to accommodate ease of use and improve concrete repair and replacement methods.